Arrow of Fate
by Khathal
Summary: Fate is like an arrow, it cannot be redirected, or can it? Maybe it will take a sniper to try and find out..


This story is influencened by my own expierences while playing Ragnarok Online, reading the manwha and my personal view of both. Hope you enjoy reading it ;).

Arrow of Fate

1. A hard days work

The hawk flew past the ancient columns and landed gracefully on a broken ledge. Folding his wings he stared down at an odd sight. It seemed to be a rock made of ice and it also appeared to contain something. With a loud crackling noise the ice exploded to release a fuming sniper. "Idiotic High Wizard!" He hollered. "Attacking me without any reason at all and then wing away like a true chicken!" The hawk screamed approvingly which somewhat calmed his owner down a little. At least he tried to leave the unpleasant encounter behind him. "Damn, I'm still fr-freezing!" He beckoned his companion down to him and decided it was time to leave Glastheim Chivalry. Still angry he made his way past the Raydrics and shot down a few Jokers too - which left him enough loot that he couldn't create any new arrows to defend himself with. "These few will have to do until I'm in Geffen..." He sighed while dodging some aggressive monsters instead of fighting them, like he normally would.

He met a few other fighters and parties, but choose not to accompany any of them, not after that High Wizard. His eyes narrowed again at the thought. He had been minding his own business and then.. Why did he attack anyway? There had been no reason at all. People seemed to think that all hunter were a§§ and therefore deserved every Frostdriver or Stormgust they got.. again he sighed and sped up his pace as it was getting dark already and he wanted to reach Geffen, the city of magic, before nightfall. He barely managed to get there in time for the shops to close and sold some of his loot to a local trader. After a few words with a tired Kafra Staff member he went to a near inn to enjoy some well-deserved food and a hot bath. In front of the inn's door the man released his bird friend and watched him fly upwards where it rested on the roof, waiting for a new day full of adventures.

The inn was a popular place to hang out in the evening and thus it was quite loud, which the sniper didn't mind for once. Glastheim was a quiet place - a dead city after all! and that made him long for some company. The cheers of Knights, Priests, Mages and townsfolk lightened his mood considerably. Even so, he still kept to himself, having managed to get a small table for himself in a far away corner where he now enjoyed a cold drink after a fine meal. His dark eyes scanned the smiling bright faces around him with mild curiosity. His gaze lasted never long enough to disturb any of the men or the women enough to make it obvious he was staring. But suddenly he felt.. like he was being watched himself. He lowered his gaze a little and through the strands of his dark brown hair he risked a glance. He dared not turn his back out of caution. Geffen wasn't Morroc, but one couldn't be careful enough. To his left.. yes, to his left, there was someone watching him with interest, it seemed and certainly not without intent. Who was it? Casually he lifted his glas to take a sip from his drink. The sweet cold refreshed his senses and he let the taste linger on his tongue, while puzzling over the man behind him. He couldn't make him out clear enough... He wasn't wearing one of the glamorous robes and clothes of the mage-class and he didn't wear armor.. which meant he wasn't a knight or crusader either.

'Quite possible a thief, then..'

The thought came out of the blue and it stuck. Why would he draw the attention of a thief? Or possibly an assassin..? The thought send chills up and down his spine and suddenly the drink didn't taste good anymore. He quickly gulped the rest of it down and paid his bill. Without delay he then left to retreat to his rented room and his much needed bath. All the time he felt the eyes watching him until he went up the stairs to the second floor and out of sight. 'Creepy ... I just hope my fears aren't true..' the sniper thought to himself. The stairs were too narrow to allow for a surpriseattack and his room was closed. So was the window and the sniper checked if anything of his possession had been touched. It wasn't the case which relieved him to a certain degree. He carried not only his bow, the arrows, some of his equpiment with him.. he was also concerned for his more personal belongings.

He decided not to take a shower, the rush of the water might make him oblivious to a sudden attack and he had wanted to take a hot bath in the first place anway. 'Why am I so jumpy lately?' He asked himself while pouring some of the inns soap into the tub. Not caring where his clothes landed he stripped naked and hopped into the hot bath to relax. He could still hear the sounds from downstairs and heared someone coming up the stairs. From the sound of it, it was the knight who had boasted about defeating Knight of the Abyss all alone in front of a slightly drunken crowd. The hot water and the scent from the soap eased the tension in the snipers muscles and he drifted into a light sleep - despite the grim feeling he still had about the man who had paid him so much attention downstairs.

The bar closed and the innkeeper urged everyone who wasn't staying for the night to leave the place to come back tomorrow. A few drunken merchants objected but she complimented them out in a resolute manner. Singing and giggling they left the inn but they weren't the last to leave. The innkeeper smiled and whished the dark tall man good night and closed the heavy door behind him.

Inhaling the sweet scent of late summer the tall man walked past the closed shops and the few people who still lingered outside. Soon all of the city would be sleeping. Well, nearly all of the city. He himself still had a job to do... At the next corner, he disapeared into the shadows of an unlit alley. It was dark, no light at all, but he found his way past some rubble and other things with practised ease. He never made a noise, not even when he jumped up a wall and landed on the roof as if he were a cat on the hunt for mice. Under the velvet-dark sky he dashed unseen back to the inn. The last house, right before the inn itself, that was where he stopped. He nestled next to the chimney and spyed down. His "interest", as he knew from earlier this evening, had rented a room on the second floor and he could see the light from behind the curtains of the closed window.

'So, he is still awake. This could complicate matters. Oh well...'

The man shrunk back to the shadows, never taking his eyes of the inn and then he simply waited. He knew, he would not have to wait for very long.


End file.
